Pilgrimage to the Past
by Raistlin Muyo
Summary: Chronicle of the creation of the original Noir


Disclaimer: I don't own Noir. If I owned it this wouldn't be fan fiction I'd be writing a story board for another season.

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_A thousand years ago the people saw the shape of the world_

_It happened at the end of the tenth century_

Two men wearing chain mail leaned against the stonework of the wall lining the bustling port town occasionally glance toward the horizon. "Hey did you hear what happened with Jack and that barmaid last night?"

"No way, don't tell me he finally got her to.... Hey what's that?"

"Dunno, give me your spyglass."

A rider in tattered leathers galloped toward the gates. "Come on lets see what he is in such a hurry about"

An abominable plot to gain power

The two ran down to the gate and signaled the rider to stop. "Isn't that Tyler from that bandit hunting mission that went out last week? What the hell is he doing back here already and where is the rest of the unit?"

Tyler's horse collapsed just outside the gates and the guardsman ran out to pull him out of the saddle. Once he was standing he glanced over his shoulder toward the distant mountains. "We have a problem. Call the council and tell them to order an evacuation. We have to get everyone out of here."

"What! Why? What is going on? Where is the rest of the unit?"

"Thousands of them. There are thousands of troops heading this way. They ambushed us while we were checking out smugglers canyon. I don't think anyone else got away."

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_Many people were killed_

_Even old men and young children_

A young blue eyed, blond haired girl freezes in the shadows under a crushed fruit stand. She looks toward the center of the courtyard where several dozen bodies were strewn about. _Mother. Father. Why are they doing this?_ She cried silently into the night. Jerking her eyes away from her former friends and playmates she starts to lift the grating from the top of a sewer vent. The grate comes free with a horrid grinding sound and clatters on the dirt-covered cobblestones.

"Well, well what do we have here? A little sewer rat that ain't been skewered yet." A course looking man in studded leather with red paint on the left side of his face and a gore covered mace gripped in his right hand steps out of the shadows across the court. The young girl leaps into the shaft and runs down the tunnel ignoring the scraps and bruises from the fall, as harsh mocking laughter seems to echo from all around her.

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_The worst atrocities man could commit against fellow man_

_The people saw such extremes with their own eyes_

After what seemed like hours, she stopped running and leaned against the grime-slicked walls and the scenes from a short while ago kept playing though her mind.

-Earlier that day-

A tense voice penetrated the adolescents slumber "Altena wake up!"

Altena draped an arm across her eyes and mumbled, "What now mother? I don't have school today."

"Don't talk back, just pack some clothes quickly the city has been ordered to evacuate. We are going to the docks."

Altena jumped out of bed and started to stuff a sack with clothing. Her mother looked over her crouching form and silently pleaded to the heavens _Please let her survive this._ A few moments later Altena ran down stairs and nearly bowled over a man dark haired wearing a brown tunic and pants with a short sword buckled onto his belt. She after recovering her balance she tossed a puzzled look at the blade "Father?"

His eyes tightened slightly "I had to pull it out of storage." A thunderous crash echoed throughout the town. The family ran outside and was greeted by the sight of the cities protective gates broken and burning as though struck by the fists of some great giant. They grabbed their bags and ran into the panicked mob.

After two hours of fighting the press of humanity and crawling over debris and destroyed dwellings scattered by looters they reached the marketing district, the last district between them and their way out. Altena's father stopped and turned toward her for a moment. "Listen to me Altena. Should anything happen to us make your way to a ship called the Sea Sparrow and tell Captain Darian I sent you."

"But..."

"Trust me, everything will be all right."

A deep harsh voice came from between the nearby storefronts "I think not." With those words twenty mace men pored into the marketplace attacking indiscriminately. The speaker charged sideswiping his weapon across the face of Altena's father. He was knocked into nearby fruit stand collapsing it. Grabbing the girls arm he dragged her toward him "Don't worry I'll be your daddy" he grinned though cracked yellow teeth. He dropped his mace and grabbed her face with his other hand leaning closer. Altena closed her eyes and choked back a sob. Something warm and wet sprayed across her face and she was dropped to the ground. Stumbling back she saw her attacker and mother fighting over a dagger and being trampled by the mob. She crawled into the wreckage of the fruit stand.

"Father get up, help mother." Her father stayed silent, his head bent at an awful angle a look of shock frozen on his features. Altena gathered his head into her lap, her cries drowned out by the massacre nearby.

-Present time-

"You said it would be all right." She wiped away fresh tears and continued on.

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_Several of them survived that hell_

_And they understood the true nature of man_

An open ring of stone under a wooden platform trickled a discolored liquid into the sea. Two ropes with wooden slats tied to each were attached to the platform near the stonework. The stench of urine and blood mixed with the salty sea air. The slats clattered against the rock as they swelled in the sewer discharge. A young girl appeared at the end of the opening and climbed up the rotting ladder. She paused at the top and cocked her head slightly. After a moment she climbed to the top of the platform and made her way toward a group of ships still moored at the harbor. She walked past each one staring intently at the hull of each until she came to one bearing the name 'Sea Swallow'. She stalked up to the ship and stopped at the gangplank. "Is Captain Darian there?" She called out. A thin man of medium height with no shirt and loose green pants strolled to the end of the plank. He let his eyes wander up and down her body before fixing his gaze to hers.

"I am he."

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_The earth is constantly overflowing with evil and hopelessness_

_Those who survived swore to one another to seek revenge against this world,_

_To help the weak and persecuted, and to realized justice on this earth_

-Two weeks later on the Sea Sparrow-

Altena jerked up out of her cot with a cry. Several of her bunkmates looked over at her and nodded. "Don't worry child you aren't back there."

A slight whisper escaped her lips.

"What was that child?"

"Never again."

The others looked at each other and their faces hardened. "Never again."

They swore absolute secrecy and loyalty and that was when Soldats took root for the first time here

The blood of the Soldats will seep throughout the wilderness and flow into the great river.

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_Those who made the pledge scattered to all parts of the world_

_And took up secret lives in the shadowy side of society_

Altena walked down the road toward a large stone building. A cobblestone road leads up to its entryway, stone columns decorated the outside of the building supporting a granite canopy, and a giant wooden cross was draped over the door. A woman dressed in black with a white hood covering her hair quietly swept the steps as Altena approached. Excuse me, have you met a man named Darian?"

The woman fixed her with a hard gaze and Altena shivered from its intensity. "Yes. Welcome to Japan. We have been expecting you for some time now."

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AN: Well I'm not completely satisfied with the prologue but it will do for now. Comments are welcome. Also for all those who like noir you must read 'Scattered Shards' by Shigan, Lost but Not Forgotten Forgotten but Not Lost by ZelasMetallium,and The Return of Noir by that-fan. In fact read all of Shigan's noir fics and all of LeeT911's. They are quite good. 


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